Around the Academy

Eric Muller: The University of North Carolina law professor is the author of three books on the wartime status of Japanese Americans. He discussed the contradiction between the unjust treatment of interned Japanese Americans and camp authorities’ attempt to help them feel a sense of dignity at his Legal History Roundtable talk. He suggested reconsideration of how this American system of racial imprisonment operated.

Jack Goldsmith: The Henry L. Shattuck Harvard Law Professor spoke about rising cyber security concerns, cyberwarfare, and cybercrime at a Federalist Society event. A fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-founder of the website Lawfare, Goldsmith focused on the legal and cyber security issues facing the government and the imperative to develop better strategies, like negotiation and diplomacy, to combat breaches.

Michelle Wu: The Harvard Law-educated lawyer and the president of the Boston City Council spoke in March at the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy on running for public office. Often in the vanguard, she is the first Taiwanese American and Asian American woman on the city council and currently its youngest member. Marie Claire named her one of the 2016 New Guard: America’s 50 Most Influential Women.

Honarable Kenneth Desmond ’90: An advocate for social justice and equality, the Massachusetts Appeals Court judge and former prosecutor said the career challenges he’s faced have affirmed his belief in humanity’s capacity to learn, grow, and change for the better. His work, Desmond said, has given him a view “into the worst of humanity, but also the very best.” He spoke at the invitation of the Black Law Students Association.

Nicholas O’Donnell ’03: A partner at Sullivan and Worcester in Boston, O’Donnell spoke about his career in art law at a talk in the Art Law Society’s speaker series. Being at the forefront of many Nazi-era art cases, including the effort to reclaim pieces of the Guelph Treasure from Germany, O’Donnell hopes to continue preserving and returning artwork to its origin. He is a member of the Art Law Committee of the New York Bar Association.